The Wall of Naruto
by DarkMasterStarr
Summary: As he was younger, Naruto sought to be somebody stronger but to do, he had to seal away a part of him. As Orochimaru attacks Team 7, that part of him awakens again. Naruto finally realizes that true strength comes within. "Rated Teen to be 'be sure.'"
1. Chapter 1

"Get up, human

**Chapter 1**

"Get up, idiot." Naruto didn't stir, he couldn't move, as if somebody was sitting on him. He really felt weak and felt like as if he thought to move, he would not be able to do anyway.

'_That fucking snake bastard really did a number on me. When I get my hands on him…'_

"Don't think about it, sad little puny human. Your body has met its limit and your soul has too, but your brain and heart has not met their limits yet. Too bad they belong to an idiot." Naruto wished he could move, he would punch whoever said that shit to him.

"Stupid fucker." Naruto grunted to nobody. "Where are you, where's this voice coming from?"

Naruto's eyes, another thing working, scanned the air with his head moving but could not find a damn thing. "Who are you?! What do you want?!"

"Who I am to you isn't important, fool but I will tell you what is. You are to find you're simple ass out of this forest, so get up!! Get up now, if you want to live." The voice edged dangerously to Naruto's ears as he could he the voice plain as day. Like it was here.

"Fine, but what am I doing here?"

"What's that supposed to mean? Don't you remember Orochimaru knocking you out with the **Five Elements Seal Jutsu**? Thus, knocking your weak ass into oblivion."

"If I wasn't weak…" Naruto started.

The voice scoffed. "Now it's not time to fight, it's time to get back to your team."

Naruto realized that he was strayed from the path of them. "Sakura, Sasuke."

"Get up, dumb, that's all it takes. Get up." The voice growled, ignoring that the boy knows knew why he had to get up.

Naruto struggled up to his feet with some strength. "Are-Are they still under attack?"

"No, but you must get to your teammates for they could still be under control. There is a fowl chakra sense in the air, something truly venomous. Get there to help them, now. Or so much for your honor…" The voice trailed off with some disgust. "Can't get up, weakling?"

Naruto grunted, not knowing that the spiteful words of this… this voice was mentoring him and helping him get up.

"Where am I exactly?" Naruto pondered to himself and the voice.

"You are a few miles away from them. Such a weak move such as that attack the snake bastard pulled threw your weak body like a rag doll through a few twenty tree." The voice was mixed with amusement and disgust. The blonde was far from being amused about being called a rag doll.

"Sakura, Sasuke, please be okay…" Naruto muttered as he raced through the forest of death; jumping in from tree branch to tree branch, jumping of tree bark to get to them. _'My honor would fall if you guys were dead.'_

Soon, the voice came to view again, ringing in Naruto's ears. "Okay, you are close, they are down there, across that tree branch's view." Naruto blinked and found them, fighting off some weird people. Sasuke stood but something didn't seem right when Naruto saw purple chakra swirl around Sasuke. "Chakra isn't suppose to purple… or in sight… Something's wrong with Sasuke."

"That is the evil chakra I speak of. Help them out by stopping the boy. This is Orochimaru's doing." Naruto soon growled.

"That fucking snake bastard did something to my teammate? Sasuke, I'm coming."

Naruto jumped down the tree branch and hollered. "Sasuke, stop!!"

Sakura, with a half of her left eyelid up, turned to Naruto. "Naruto!!" As did everybody else, even the enemies: three Sound village ninjas.

"Sakura. What's wrong with Sasuke?"

"I don't know, he woke up like this…" Sakura answer, just as confused and worried like Naruto.

"Sakura…" Sasuke spoke stoically to her. "They did this to you, huh?"

"You guys were attacked by these freaks?!" Naruto said, also growling, forgetting that he was to subdue Sasuke. Naruto stood, adjacent to Sasuke. "Sasuke, let me handle at least one of this guys."

Sakura looked as Naruto started radiating with some new chakra, blue as ever. "Naruto…" She whispered.

Sasuke nodded wordlessly. "I already have somebody in my site." Naruto watched as the chakra radiated off the Uchiha.

One of the Sound ninja snarled to the three. "Why are you two so cocky? I'll take you both." He then ran at the three as he had his palms out. One tried calling him back. "Wait, Zaku, no!"

Zaku couldn't hear his teammate anymore, as he broke the sound area. "Zankuuha!!"

The blast shinned a light that would cut anybody off and the blast wisped through the forest. He grinned maliciously. "Yeah!" He singed. "Now, where are their broken bodies?"

"What bodies?" Naruto's voice ringed out as Zaku looked to see the pesky Leaf Ninja scum alive and well.

The Sound ninja snarled. "Damn, I missed. Well, I won't miss this-"

He stopped as he felt a pressure on his two arms and found that the black haired ninja from Konohagakure was behind him, gripping on his two arms very tightly.

The sound ninja found him in a hold he could not get himself out and killer intent that rivaled Orochimaru's. Sasuke grinned darkly. Naruto and Sakura knew that this was not the Sasuke they dealt with all the time. Naruto looked at him incredibly and Sakura looked like she was going to puke. The ninja felt his arms being torn out of his sockets and himself pitch a scream so painful. His teammates and the rest in the background, which included Team 8 & Team Gai, cringed as he screamed 'mercy' and soon, they watched the sound ninja being thrown to the floor.

Sakura jumped down as she tried calming down Sasuke. "Sasuke!! No more, please, no more!

Naruto and the rest watched as Sakura calmed Sasuke down and the purple power disappearing. Naruto sighed in gratitude but was still slightly jealous. _'Sakura likes him too much, she'll never like me like that.'_

"Sasuke is finally subdued…" Naruto looked at the other Sound ninjas and pulled out a kunai. "Hey! Give us your Earth Scroll, now or you'll turn out like your teammate."

The seemingly appointed leader complied with Naruto's demand and grabbed his teammate to leave. "Here is the Earth scroll, Leaf scrum." And soon raced through the trees, disappearing from the spot, with Zaku, their pained teammate.

--

Sakura and Naruto looked at each other as Sasuke fell to asleep a few hours since the attack on them. Naruto sat next to her but started at the ground they sat on.

"We need to get to the tower. We got all we need and now, we need to hurry. We can't survive out here for long." Sakura was shocked. Naruto would never be so silent… so serious about this and to not want to fight anymore?

Sakura got over her surprise and nodded. "We will head out with Sasuke early in morning, Naruto. You can go to sleep first now, you know? It's been a busy day for you."

Naruto shook his head. "No, it hasn't. As soon as that snake guy attacked us, I blacked out, so I already okay, you need more sleep than me Sakura. Just think of it as a reward for being the one taking control of Team 7 today." He winked at her, which he was pleased to see that he got a little blush out of her.

"Okay… but don't stay up too late, Naruto. You need sleep too. You are important to this team too…" She trailed off as she felt the Sandman come and claim her.

Naruto watched her and Sasuke slept in the tree branch for a few minutes until he looked up to the blackened skies. "I'm important to this team, eh?"

He rested head near Sakura's and looked up to the skies. He trailed off with a question. "Who was that voice…?"

And fell asleep with Team 7 for once.

--

End of chapter 1

A/N: I got the plot starting idea from "Bloodline" by SOC Puppet thought it will diverge from it, far. This chapter goes out to him, for his story giving me this idea. While this is about 3 or 4 pages long, it's more compact than any of my stories and I can easily start out from here and continue than most of my stories. So yeah, this story is soul for the purpose of me deleting a story. It should be another new story as I delete one.

Keep your ears and eyes out for me and please, just review!! Don't just story alert it or favorite it first, I want to hear your opinion, people!! How am I going to be an author for real if I can't read or see your opinions? Don't be shy; I can take good or bad reviews. Critics are allowed; a healthy critic's review is welcome, I need it anyway. Just no flames and you know what I mean by flames, I mean this:

"OMG, U SUC. TIS STORI SUC AZZ, U SHOULDA QUIT ASS A WRITER!! 111111"

Or: "FUC YOU, TIS IS SUPER LAME-O, LOL, XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!! 111111 I COULDA WRITE BETTA THAN U!!"

In which, some of these flamers don't even know how to write in English, nor some form of slang that I can understand. You have ever heard of these people attempt to write a story? It's like a third grader writing backward, attempt to write in French. If you can't write, more than likely you can't read on a level like the more plot-detailed authors lurking around on this site and me. This don't goes to hurt the illiterate either; you guys have my sympathy but those who could get an education and decides not to, it's all going to hurt you in the end, trust me.

Well, anyway, the second chapter should come out shortly (if I'm not trying to enjoy my summer vacation!), so keep your eye open. Now go to that "Submit Review" and give me all your opinions.

Ciao!!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Naruto's blue eyes stared at the bright skies and he held his stomach as he twisted his head to see Sakura stood up on the tree branch with Sasuke still in her arms. "You ready to go?"

He nodded and saw how she struggled to carry the boy. "Umm… You want me to…?" He let himself trailed off as he singly let his index finger point at Sasuke's body.

"Oh, I got it, Naruto." Sakura said. "You are still weak from Orochimaru's attack on you, aren't you?" She stated this more than questioning it. She knew he was weak with the way his legs sometimes bobbed and weaved.

He shook his head, couldn't accept her pity on him. He just felt too useless for his own good and he wanted to help as much as he could. "I'm good. You must be tired yourself. You did defend him from yesterday until he woke up." He already grabbed Sasuke's unmoving body. "Tell you what, think of this of payback for me failing you guys, yesterday."

Sakura looked almost bewilder and sad. "Naruto, you didn't-"

Naruto already had started trekking down the path off the massive tree branch and to the ground with Sasuke on his back. "Come on, Sasuke, you bastard. Let's go."

Sakura thought sadly at Naruto. _'Naruto, you didn't fail us… we failed you.'_

--

The walking was serene and quiet and then they stopped at a stream, deciding that it was well time to take a break. Naruto decided to take a dip in the water to cool off his body and after that, Sasuke made his way back in to consciousness and they continued on with their day. For some reason, Naruto believed this day was hotter than yesterday or the day before that, before… ever!

Naruto tore off his orange jacket, revealing limpid, lean muscles to the world and his black tank top. Even though he always wore his signature jacket, he thought it was just too hot. He wore his jacket now on his waist, the sleeves hugging his midsection. This action didn't go untouched without Sasuke's and Sakura's knowing but they decided not to speak of it. Naruto was still not feeling too good about himself, Sakura thought. Sasuke may not knew that Naruto was knocked out by Orochimaru but Sasuke did know that he saved the day yesterday and Naruto wasn't feeling too happy.

Naruto tried casting out this feeling of uselessness to continue their quest to the tower now that they have the Earth Scroll but the two could almost sense he wasn't himself. Naruto, although still feeling weak from yesterday, tried to slow down and pace himself. Orochimaru really must of did some number on him or… screwed with his body.

"That's because he did, fool." A voice came within his ears.

"Aw, not you again. Can you tell me at least what you are?" Naruto asked but the voice ignored it.

"Orochimaru has put a seal on your body, hindering not only the flow of Kyuubi's freelancing power but some of your chakra points in your stomach and lower body was closed off. Until you find a solution, try to not use some much chakra, human." The voice sneered, like he knew the boy didn't have great control of his chakra.

"How do you know all of this? The… demon, the snake bastard, everything?" Naruto questioned to voice in his head, which offered no answer to those questions.

"Just listen to-"

"No! I'm sick of this, sick of everybody telling me what to do! Either you tell what, who you are or I'm going to stand here in this position." Naruto stopped walking in his mind and real life, which made his teammate look at him questionably.

Naruto could hear the voice sigh deeply, scowling and sneering already. "Just call me… a forgotten piece of your mind, human. I'm your conscience i.e. you. I'm just give you advice and the reasons I know this… well, just say it's in my nature to gather information when your body is shut down and your mind is out of commotion. I'm just… just call me, Oturan."

"What… Out-"

Naruto's asking was stopped when he heard the arrival of a familiar ninja in the Chunnin Exams, Kabuto. "Hey guys! What are you all standing in the middle of the forest here?"

"Ask the dope." Sasuke said, almost sneering at the boy, who stared almost soullessly into thin air.

Sakura waved a hand in Naruto's face. "Naruto? Are you okay?"

Naruto jumped back into reality as he realized that he didn't move an inch. He blushed as Sakura's dainty hand was waving in his face and he stopped for no apparent reason - for as much as they knew, he was just standing there for no reason. "Sorry, got lost in my thoughts."

"Sorry, we didn't think you even had thoughts." Sasuke smirked as he said that comment, making Kabuto and Sakura giggle but soon frowned slightly as Naruto ignored him.

"Let's go now, then." Naruto said, walking again as they followed. He turned his head to Kabuto. "So, Kabuto, what brings you here?"

Kabuto smiled friendly at the boy. "Oh, I'm just trying to get back to my teammates. I got lost from them when I decided to retrieve a Heaven scroll to get to the towers. When I saw you guys on the way back, I decide to, you know, tag along until I see my team."

Naruto and Sakura nodded, but Sasuke raised his eyebrow. _'Something doesn't add up about him. A ninja getting lost?'_

But of course, Sasuke didn't speak of it in front of them as he walked with the rest of them through the forest with his hands in his pockets, still thinking of that ill but amazing power he had gotten back in the forest. _'That snake man did something to me in order for me to have this power. Whatever he did, when I unleashed that power, it felt good but bad. Maybe I can figure it out.' _He fingered the spot on his neck and then thought of telling his teammates and Kakashi about this new profound power but he thought against it. _'They would probably hinder me and keep me from using it. It's my power, I can do whatever I want with it.'_

Sakura turned to Sasuke as he had a scowl on his face. "Sasuke, what's wrong."

He grunted at her, turning his scowl from her. "I'm fine."

She still had her eyes to him as she turned her head. _'Something is bothering you, Sasuke. Why won't you tell me? Why won't you just open your heart to me? Don't you know I love you? Why can you be like-'_

She paused, knowing what she was going to say. 'Why can't you be like Naruto?' She then frowned to herself as she stopped herself from thinking that. Why was Naruto lately in her thoughts? Usually, she wouldn't care about him but ever since the two incidents in the forest, she's been worried more about him then her crush. She could not understand it. What made Naruto special? Sasuke was stronger, faster, powerful and better than Naruto, why was still thinking about him as much? Why?

Naruto did not stop himself from talking to Outran in his mind. "So, you are a part of me that was forgotten? How is that possible?"

"I was thrown away when you tried concealing your true self away. You wanted to be something your not and I was sealed away because I hindered that." It said, sneering as Naruto's face swirled with painful confusion.

"What? I'm me! I'm not trying to be something I'm not." Naruto all but shouted back to the voice.

"Yes, you were. You were doing this since you were 5, since you wanted to be accepted. You thought by hiding powerful emotions like depression or fear would make you powerful but in all, it has hindered your strength. That is why you are weak, which is why you can't defeat Sasuke. That is why you can't achieve your dream."

Naruto refused to listen to the voice, almost screaming out loud but quick remembered that he was screaming to voice nobody else could hear. "Why are you telling me this? I'm me, I'm proud and strong and you're wrong, I will achieve my dream of being a Hokage. I'm stronger than Sasuke, I am!"

The voice snickered and just spat back at the blond boy. "Pathetic, just pathetic. You won't accept the truth, and you still believe you are one and the same. I know all of you; I know everything down from the Nine-Tailed Fox to your dreams, hopes and memories. I'm you, you idiot but of course, maybe I have taken most of brain with me when you thrown me away like a shape! You'll soon realize what you are, soon. And when you do realize it, you and I will be one again and you will be the depressed, apathetic, fearful but powerful person you locked away."

And soon, the voice disappeared inside Naruto head, which he was just as angry with the voice than with him. He whispered, "I'm me, not him. We are not one; I am the one and only Naruto. I didn't seal away anything; I didn't change myself for anybody… I'm me…" But he knew that he wasn't telling the truth, that's what made him mad at himself.

He knew what made him tick; he had reformed himself to become something new, all right. He started small and built himself a kabuki mask; one painted of a face belonging that a fox. Then, he knitted a mask, a veil to cover his face, his true self. And finally, he ended up building a brick wall and its soul purpose was to protect him from attacks and him to fall safely at, like a trampoline. He felt ashamed that this voice told him… this voice was of his own true voice that the Naruto he stood, as was not the real one.

He wished he could go rest his mind now…

Even as the voice was right about him being "not real", he would not let the voice call him weak. _'I am strong!! I'm not weaker than Sasuke or anybody who stands in my way. I know I'm really not the ball of sunshine I'm suppose to be, but I will get people to acknowledge me, I will get people to love me!! There's always a way. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, damn it! I'm not going to that voice hurt me any longer. I will find love and happiness, I will!!'_

--

End of Chapter 2

A/N: Hope you like it.

Questions would probably be: Is Naruto going to be super powerful?

Well, not really _super _powerful. My interpretation of Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze is that he is a really depressed kid who was always depressed because he had nobody to love him or show him love. This Naruto "builds" things to protect him and when those things can no longer protect him, he rebuilds and makes sure their stonger. I believe the "kabuki mask", the "veils" and the "brick walls" are symbols of Naruto trying to hide away his depression and tries to go on living life without losing his mind, although it may be that he is already doing so.

This has to be one of my most "averaged" powered Naruto in turmoil with himself that has been be present in all of my stories. Outran, the opposite of Naruto, is just the more negative, more "realer" sides of Naruto, who knows Naruto and his being are depressed, detached souls and simple being put, Outran is the "good" side of Naruto and this "Naruto" is the "evil" side. It's confusion, no? Well anyway, Naruto is going the same level of intelligence in here like the show, but executed more profoundly than the show and his powers will be more stronger but only by a little. This story isn't focusing on Naruto's strength but his weaknesses and his insanity rising.

Review people!! I love your opinions now. Remember: NO FLAMES!!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and their company Kabuto almost ran to the tower.

Naruto thought in his mind, his face caked in sweat. _'Wow! Last night and this morning was a dozy! Those stupid Rain ninjas ambushed us but thanks to me, I saved the team.' _A smirk radiated off his face and while it had some factors of being a "shit-eating, cocky grin", it was more of an "I-proved-to-be-useful-after-all" grin.

The others breathed hard and Naruto was just sweating, not even feeling too winded. In fact, he felt like he ate Ramen to give him a quick rush of power. He grinned. _'I knew I was strong now. Fuck that voice. I'm stronger now than before. Than ever.' _He looked over at his hands and stared into it. He soon pick up one of his finger and fingered the spot where he cut his hand when going to Wave Country. _'I made a promise that day to never give in and become stronger and well on that path. Nobody can stop me, not even Sasuke. Not even… myself.'_

'_I'm better than Oturan, I know I am… I just gotta be.' _Naruto stared hard at the tower. _'Once I'm finish with this exam, I'll show how strong I am!'_

Kabuto grasped his head and grinned cheekily at Team 7. "Well, my team is there. I'll see you guys inside."

Naruto and Sakura waved at him and Sasuke didn't bother.

--

All Jounins in the village were present in their leader's office; he had sat in his chair of power, smoking a pipe. Sasuke Sarutobi sighed. "Now, I know I have called all of you a little too late but we must talk about the damage Orochimaru has brought with him. With him getting in contact with Team 7, he has…." Sarutobi paused to find the right words. "…'Tainted' the Uchiha with his curse. The Cursed Seal."

"Sir, what should we do, are you going to proclaim war?" A random male said in the background.

"No… we know that Orochimaru is the Sound Village's leader but we cannot proclaim war on them. Not only it will rock our 'look' on this village as it attacks another weaker village, but it will cause problems for us in the later future. My student is not to be trifled with. He knows so many levels of power and treachery. He could be impersonating anybody of the village." Sarutobi stopped to look at most of the Jounin looking around at each other, trying to find one who didn't belong. He sighed at their confusion. "No, I don't think he would be present in this room. He isn't quite foolish and arrogant to do so with 45 Jounins, Six ANBU guards and a Hokage to boot. No, Orochimaru would stray from the inner heart of the village and stay close to what every village is entitled to here, the Chunnin Exams."

"So, what _do _you want us to do, Hokage-sama?" Another ninja said in the office.

Sarutobi took a hit on his pipe and let the nicotine hit his aging but powerful lungs. "We will keep every visitor from each village under survillance. At least ten Jounins will look after the Genins in the Chunnin Exams: the ones who are responsible of each Genin and two Specially Ranked Jounins will be present plus four ANBU soldiers. If Orochimaru is seen and/or captured, bring him immediately to me. If you can, avoid trying to kill him." Sarutobi declared as he almost slapped himself for still having sympathy for his former student. _'I still have faith in Orochimaru, I still believe he can change but after ten years? What kind of fool am I becoming? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, same on me. I cannot let him get away again. I have to stop him. My village's safety is more important than his… or mine's.'_

All Jounins nodded as they were dismissed, except the ones Sarutobi assigned to the job of looking after Orochimaru. "Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuuhi, Asuma Sarutobi, Gai Maito, Anko Mitarashi, Ibiki Morino and the four ANBU… this mission is ranked SS. Failure to capture/kill/defeat Orochimaru will end of strip of your rank forever… we need to stop him. With the way the Sound only sent one team and the Sand sent one team, I fear an alliance."

"An alliance? Hokage-sama, forgive me but how can base that on how team a village sent?" Kakashi said, while the others nodded inwardly.

Sarutobi turned to look out the window as he stood. "Most of the villages present have present more than one team. While the Cloud and the Stone villages did not send their teams due to our bad blood with them in the past, I know they would dare to break our treaty for another war since the last wars with them."

"And the Sand? Why would the Sand break off our relationship to go in world with us?"

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I know that the Sand has a Jinchurriki like our." Sarutobi said. "Except this one is used as weapon and would be the reason why they are gathering confidence to attack our village. The Sand was known before to lust for growth of their land, the size of their country rivals all and Orochimaru wants to conquer this village because he could not do so in the past when he wanted the Fourth's title."

"Sir, I think I speak for everybody that we understand this." Kurenai said, with everybody nodding.

"Yes… I need you all to not act like you know this. Remember: Do not fail." Sarutobi sat down again and waved his hand to them. "Dismissed."

All of them left with their instance-transmission moves. The aging man sat there, looking at a picture of his old them: A younger version of himself, two other young kids and Orochimaru. "Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade, even as the three legendary ninjas, you are still plagued with failure. Tsunade believed she failed a love, Jiraiya believe he fail a student and Orochimaru believes Konoha failed him… but maybe I failed you all..." Sarutobi smoked his pipe, trying to make lungs black as tar.

--

After having a run in with Iruka and resting for the exams, Team 7 were listed five days later, instructed to walk into a indoor stadium, with other teams following after. Naruto's face converted into a face of shock. "Wow, what are we going to do here?"

"Here starts the third part of Chunnin Exams." Sarutobi said, answering Naruto. "All of you will be fighting. This will be label 'part one' of the third part of the exams. This year was unexpected by officials since usually not many people makes it past the second round, so we decided to make a preliminaries part of the exams. The rules are simple: Defeat your opponent at all cost, use any fighting technique and if you can, avoid the killing of an opponent."

When Sarutobi said "killing", some gulped at that possibility while others had a ghost of a smirk on their faces (guess who). Sarutobi coughed and cleared his throat. "Now, I don't approve of killing your opponent but unfortunately, that's the way of ninja life."

'_One aspect I'll be sure to avoid.' _Naruto thought as he clenched his fists.

"If you don't think you can continue on with this, please raise your hands and you can leave." Sarutobi saw a hand immediately jet up. "Alright, Mr…"

"Kabuto Yakushi, Hokage-sama." The glassed-eye boy raised his hand and bowed. "Thanks."

Naruto didn't like this prospect. "Kabuto, why are quitting?"

Kabuto smiled at Naruto, a little sadly it seemed. "Naruto-kun, I'm too weak at the moment. The attack on us in the forest has made me too weak to continue on. I'm sorry, maybe next year I'll pass."

Naruto frowned. _'But I can feel he's still got a lot of power…'_

Sarutobi nodded to Kabuto, signaling to leave at his time. "Anybody else?"

Nobody had the heart to raise his or her hands as each wanted to prove something… well that Nara was close but Yamanaka "knocked" some sense into him. Sarutobi smiled. _'This generation are the most inspired. Almost all the team who enter the forest has came out, save three unfortunate team.'_

Sarutobi smiled more when he realized all the teams from this village was present, making him more proud. "You all have heart, and I welcome you to the third part of the Exams, which will be the last part of it. This round is simple the preliminaries and will move to the semi-finals, which from there will broken to two parts. Finally, the Finals, in where two ninjas will fight for the title of 'winner' but do not think that if you lose and you will not become a Chunnin; if you make it further in the tournament, you will have more of a chance to become Chunnin. This is more of an evaluation of your skills. It will base on how fast you can end the match, your tactics, and your endurance. It will also base on how you listen to the rules and follow them. I bid you good well and the supervisor of this round will be Hayate Gekkou."

A cough rang through and a sickly-looking man walks through. "Thank you, Hokage-sama." He had a short coughing fit. "Greetings, I am Hayate Gekkou and I will be the official referee of this. This is going to be the basics of the preliminaries. One, two people will fight at a time and their names should show up on that electrical screen there." Hayate raised his hand to show the black screen on the marble wall. "This should reduce the people who are present in the exams. Each match will end in one winning and one losing, a draw, disqualification or double disqualification. The way one can be disqualified if one is given help from another but that does not include summons and/or animals." Several people, such as Kiba, sighed in relief. "A victory is achieved by knockout or making your opponent submit or they themselves surrender. Please remember the rules as Hokage-sama stated. If you all understand that…" He paused to let out another cough. "…Then we begin."

Hayate motioned the people to fill in the audience's "spot". Naruto grunted. _'Aw, man. No spots to sit down… aw well, got to be ready anyway.'_

'This exam… I hope I'm strong enough though. I want to prove Sasuke… and Naruto that I'm stronger now.' Sakura said as she stood next to Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke looked on with the face of Naruto's: determined to pass this exam.

_'This isn't an exam for me to raise my rank, it's a place where I can evaluate my skills and see if I'm strong enough to kill… Itachi.' _He clenched his hands at that name. _'If I can't defeat any of these losers, I know I can't defeat Itachi then. Gaara, Rock Lee, those Hyuugas, I'm looking forward to test myself against them… even you, Naruto.' _He looked at the smirking Naruto as he looked down from his post. _'You have been changing the last few days… Orochimaru, the Sound and Rain Teams attack us… it's been telling me constantly that you have grown stronger, maybe stronger than anybody in this room, but you can't defeat me! If I can't especially defeat you, then I can't defeat Itachi!!'_

Team 7 looked on as Hayate declared the first two on the screen.

The screen hailed this: _Sasuke Uchiha vs. Yoroi Akadou_

_  
_Sasuke grunted as he looked down at the screen, wondering who was this person he was fighting. _'It's probably some weakling, regardless I'll finish it quickly.'_

Kakashi soon popped in existence, next to him. "So, Sasuke, it's your turn, huh?"

Kakashi only heard a grunt. The copy-ninja sighed. "Listen Sasuke, it's dangerous using too much chakra. At this stage, it's almost impossible to control it. It put strain on your body, a lot of it. I recommend not using the Sharingan as it too incorporates the need of chakra. If you decide to heed my warning, I will personally stop the match, ending in the disqualification of you and you will not be able to advance through the Exams."

_'And doing that will squeal my chances of testing myself.' _Sasuke gritted his teeth, almost snarling at the prospect of that. _'I have to listen if I want to.'_

Sasuke begrudgingly nodded. Kakashi smiled under his mask, which was all so fake and unreal. _'I know you abhor the rules Sasuke but if you don't listen, this seal can really hurt you. I'll make sure I do something about it.'_

_  
_"Just stick to low-level jutsu that doesn't use a lot of chakra and Taijutsu and you'll be fine." Kakashi said. He nodded. _'Wow. I got two nods out of him in a row? I'm good.'_

Sasuke hopped down as Sakura and Ino cheered him on, which he vehemently ignored. The other simply walked down. Sasuke looked on to his opponent. Simply dressed that matched Kabuto's outfit. He had purple and white garments on, with a scarf on his head and black, little specks that shielded his eyes. Sasuke looked on at him, not even caring much. "He doesn't look like much, I'll end this quickly…"

Sasuke kept his black charcoal eyes on him. He whispered to himself. "I don't want to try a chance of any chakra-inducing move. Well, all I got is my Taijutsu. This match might not be easy if he's better than I think. Combined with my speed, I should be able to defeat him."

Hayate signaled them both. "Ready…? (Coughing) … fight."

Sasuke and Yoroi ran at each other but with different weapons. Yoroi relied on his fists, which glowed with a blue vortex of power. Sasuke stood his ground and threw some shuriken at the opponent. Yoroi dodged them in zigzags and stalked Sasuke as he flipped backwards. Closer and closer he got to Sasuke and then Sasuke felt his energy leave him.

"Ya!" Sasuke yelped in pain. _'What… is this? Is he zapping my strength?'_

Yoroi calmly spoke. "Ah, now do you know the extent of my power? You know now not to underestimate me. This is my **Chakra Absorption Technique**, like it? I can steal away your chakra with this fist, while not hurting you and its not used as an assassination technique, I can zap away your strength." He soon hurled Sasuke away to the marble floor, where Sasuke can still hear cheers for him to get up. _'I want to get up so badly… but he has my strength. NO!! I won't give up to anybody. I am an Uchiha, not a freaking weakling. I have to get up, I have to kill Itachi!'_

Sasuke stood his ground, almost barely. He tried again to attack him long-range with shuriken and kunai, but Yoroi easily dodged it. Yoroi enclosed their space and tried hitting Sasuke with the **Chakra Absorption Technique** again but Sasuke jumped, flipping over his opponent and swept Yoroi off his feet. Yoroi crashed to the ground and saw Sasuke swirl out a kunai.

Yoroi felt the dagger pang in his chest but easily got Sasuke with his attack in the leg. Sasuke yelled again in pain as his body started to crumble. This time, Yoroi would not let go. Sasuke felt everything leave his body: his strength, his chakra, his energy, his will and spirit. Sasuke shook his head; my will won't leave me, Sasuke grunted in his mind. He itched his fingers to his pouch and grabbed another kunai. This time, he forced Yoroi to roll away as Sasuke aimed to kill. Sasuke gather the rest of him and stopped to think.

_'Running to him will give me the disadvantage. All I know about him is his ability to suck away my chakra and strength. He only relies on close combat. I can't-'_

Sasuke's thoughts were hurled in the darkness that was his mind as his opponent's whole hand rocked his face and held there. He's stealing my chakra again, Sasuke said inwardly. That's it, I won't last; and he thought more. Then suddenly, something woke him up.

"Hey Sasuke, I guess you really are weaker than me! How are going to beat me if you can't be this guy? You call me the dead-last but who's really losing here?"

As Naruto screamed at him, insulting him, Sasuke took that as a plea to get up. "Damn Naruto." Sasuke whispered with a smile. "You may my chakra but I have my will!!"

Sasuke pushed his body past its limits and kicked Yoroi off with the last of himself. Sasuke stood after and spoke. "It's time to end this."

Yoroi ran to him, the chakra sparking again. "Give it up, brat!"

Sasuke disappeared, Sharingan blazing, as soon he stood, Yoroi's fist phased through that space. Suddenly Lee Rock looked up at the two and was shell-shocked. "T-That's my…"

Sasuke kicked Yoroi in the air with a good-earned kick, jumped in the back of him that looked so much like Lee's technique and followed after with a series of kicks. "I'm not finished yet!"

Then, his seal came to life, sparking him really good. "N-no. I must fight it off."

Every Jounin in the crowd stared well at this. Anko almost fainted. "How can he suppress it so good?"

Yoroi moved his arm to blow another kick. "Sorry if that's was the last of your move."

Sasuke smirked. "Sorry if this hurts." Sasuke spun in the air as he punched the man. Then he clicked his foot on Yoroi as he spun and both came to the ground harshly. "**Shishi Rendan!! (Lion Combo)**"

Yoroi's legs kicked up in the air one more time as they feel. Hayate didn't really need to know Yoroi was knocked out hard, he knew the Uchiha won. "Winner, Sasuke Uchiha."

Most of the crowd – if you meant Sakura and Ino- congratulated the boy on his victory of his victory (most clapping quietly unlike the ruckus Sasuke's admirers were kicking up). Sasuke breathed hard and felt a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, let's suppress the seal more." And soon, Sasuke and Kakashi vanished from existence; Naruto looked on with some wonder.

"Where's he taking the bastard?" He spoke to himself but shrugged. "It's probably not too important."

Hayate spoke, coughing actually. "The next fighters please step down."

The screen kicked up and read the two fighters.

_Naruto Uzumaki vs. Kiba Inuzuka_

_  
_Kiba grinned in the stands. "Man, it's my luck day, isn't it, Akamaru?"

The dog barked and wagged his tail, happy that his master was happy.

Naruto grinned at as he hopped down. "Somebody like mutt-boy is too easy for me. Somebody change this match." He winked at Sakura. "Root for me, eh, Sakura?"

Sakura's face heated up and refused to look at Naruto. "Shut up, Naruto!!"

He shrugged as he walked on to Kiba. Sakura had a ghost of a smile on her face. "Good to have the normal Naruto back." She whispered.

Everybody turned his or her eyes, gluing it to the center. Kurenai stared at her student. "Take him out, Kiba…. Don't get cocky." She spoke, hoping her student got the message.

Kiba and Naruto both had vicious smirks on their faces. Who would win?

End of Chapter 3

--

A/N: Yeah, so, yeah. Naruto fights Kiba, also fighting himself and everything is pretty much the same in the tournament, so yeah.

I decided to keep each technique in English except the ones I know are by heart in Japanese, the same, usual techniques that are present in the _Naruto_ series. Everything is about the same here, except a few things. Review this story please? I love your opinions!!

Ja ne!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Naruto could perfectly remember his childhood. He could remember everybody's hatred, his or her glaring eyes, eyes so hurtful. Naruto would not get any respect, kindness or sympathy. Everywhere he went, he was disrespected and thrown away like trash. Nobody had the tenacity, patience and ability to love him. Which, he thought, he was the problem.

He felt that he was entitled to it and he want it. To do so, Naruto believed he was not "correct" the way he was now and he did something that's human nature to do when things are not correct, he tried fixing and reforming it. It would take him a year to do but he did it. He created his first mask. The mask was craved out of wood and unpainted but when termites got inside and at the wood from inside, Naruto decided to change it to the unpurified version of wood: Paper. The mask held up longer, even though people could see through it easier and it was far weaker. When the mask was torn open, Naruto knew he had to change it much differently. Finally, he came up with an "iron version" of the Kabuki mask. It was hard, stronger, and powerful. However, he would come to realize that the mask was uncomfortable to wear.

Even then, he had a problem. Parts and parts of the old Naruto were breaking through, parts that he didn't which to show the world for he feared he would rejected, again. He realized that the iron mask was oxidizing from costly being in the rain and was finally rusting, no matter how hard he tried avoid the rain now.

He felt naked again, like he was not bound to this world, like he wasn't akin to it and in ways, he was not. It was sad how it that he has gotten far from his reality like this in such a short time.

And then he realized, this all. The match, the fights, his struggles, they were all met for something. This match was like destiny. It was no longer set to Naruto vs. Kiba but to Naruto vs. himself. It was sad really how it turned out and he thought he killed his "old" self but it survived and crawled up, pending up its strength to defeat the "new" Naruto.

Naruto stood there, looking down and troubled in his own thoughts. When it finally occurred to him that Kiba and him were still in a battle with each other, he felt a flush of pain exploding in his stomach as Kiba rushed at him and knocked him back with a fairly powerful elbow. Naruto came crashing down, unmoving.

"What the hell? Naruto!" Sakura shouted at her teammate. "Come on, get up!"

Kiba guffawed at Naruto's unmoving body. "What a weakling." The smug and sneering remark came off of Kiba's lips. "Referee just call the match alre- yow!!" he soon howled in pain as shuriken impaled his back.

Naruto stood there, glaring at Kiba and then smirked. "Heh, you thought you could keep me down, dog-boy? I'm not going to lose to such a mutt like you, Kiba."

The dog-carrying boy growled beastily. "Don't think you can defeat me. Everybody keeps saying that you gotten stronger but I don't think so! Even you were so strong, you wouldn't even able to touch me more than you hit me with shuriken and believe this, you won't be getting anymore hits than this."

Kiba fell on all fours again and charged at Naruto again, but Naruto knew that Kiba would not fool him again. Kiba watched as Naruto leaped over him and smirked.

Naruto never made it to ground as another Kiba came and attack him. Naruto fell down, buckled in pain. Naruto held his jaw in pain. "What the hell? That's not regular **Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique)**." Naruto declared. Kiba smirked at him.

"You're right for once, dead last. It's not but a stronger version present in my family's skills. I like to introduce you to** Jujin Bushin** **(Beast Clone)**. It's really good. It's impossible figure out which one is the real one, weakling. Kiba, attack!!"

"With pleasure." The next Kiba came and try smacking an animalistic and savage slug to Naruto. Naruto quickly did a cartwheel to the side but soon felt a massive kick to his right side of his body. He almost exclaimed in pain as Kiba grabbed him with talons and dug them inside Naruto's arm. The extra pain didn't really occur to Naruto until Kiba flung him to the other side of the battlefield.

Naruto grunted, as he didn't find his wounds heal up. _'Damn, Kyuubi is really plugged up. Well, no matter. I got to stay cool-headed. Maybe if I rile up Kiba, I can get him to falter.'_

Naruto stood, grinning. "What are grinning about, idiot?" Kiba sneered.

Naruto chuckled. "I was just evaluating your strength, mutt."

"'Evaluating my strength'? Ha! With you being thrown like that, I doubt it. It seems like I'm just playing around with you." The two Kiba charged but with purple orbs in their fingers. Naruto's eyes widened.

"Smoke bombs?"

The smoke came clashing in as Naruto frantically looked around. "Where is he…?"

"Here!" One Kiba screeched as Naruto felt a fist drive in his solar plexus.

"No, here!" Naruto this time felt a knee rock against his jaw. It took all his strength not to fall from that attack, as his knees almost rocked back and forth.

_'This can't be happening. I can't be this weak, can I?'_

_  
_Naruto soon felt a fist thump on his head and Naruto unfortunately reeled into unconsciousness. _'No.'_

--

Naruto could no longer find himself in the real world but in a darkened place, however, it wasn't the lair of Kyuubi. No, this lair wasn't filled with murky black waters or a yellowish gleam in the background. The ground was just placed with a dark abyss of oblivion. Naruto almost yelped in surprise as he was over the abyss. Thinking he would fall, he braced for impact and closed his eyes but the impact never came.

"_Huh?_" Naruto still stood over the never-ending darkness. "_I'm still here?_"

"_It's very amusing to see you pitifully believe that._" A voice rang through, that Naruto begrudgingly remembered.

"_It's you, Oturan._"

"_So nice of you to remember._" Oturan said, sarcasm dipping from his voice. "_Welcome to the empty space that is your mind._"

"_My mind? Why is so… bleak?" _Naruto asked the voice.

Oturan scoffed. _"Your memories, dreams and hopes are on the other side of the mind, with the side of the demon. Here lies your knowledge and unfortunately, you don't have much._"

"_Hey!_" Oturan chuckled darkly at Naruto's response.

"_Yes, well. I'm sure you know the reason why I brought you here._"

"_I was kind of hoping for a gift basket of Ramen, hehe."_

The voice ignored the sarcastic answer. _"I brought you here to help you acknowledge something. Tell me, do you believe you're winning against Kiba?_"

"_Well-_"

"_There is no 'well'! You are losing to him. It hasn't even been a full ten minutes yet and you're losing to him. Do you really think that you can get up and fight? Do really think that you can win because of your 'strength'?" _The voice mocked the word "strength" in Naruto, in which he snarled.

"_I am strong! I-I took out those Rain ninjas._"

Oturan's shadowed body looked through him. "_All with help._"

"_No! I am stronger._" Naruto would not give up. He was stronger! He was more powerful than before… right?

"_That may had been true but you're losing now. If you can't defeat Kiba, how are you supposed to defeat anybody and withhold your honor of protecting your friends and loved ones?_" The voice would keep mocking Naruto until he listened and learned. "_The only way you could defeat him if we joined. I have information that even you could not gain. I gained information when you were unconscious, sleep or wounded. I have the knowledge to defeat him, and you have the body. Together, we would become a new Naruto. Together, we would complete. I'm not only thing you sealed away, idiot._"

The voice sounded more collected and cool, but Naruto refused to listen.

"_No, I can handle him on my own. I don't need your knowledge when I have all of my own!! I refuse to listen to you any longer. Get… out… of… my… MIND!!" _Naruto screamed at Oturan as the voice snarled with anger to Naruto.

"_You want a war? Fine! You can have the half of yourself you structured to be. Soon, you'll realize that to deify me is to deify all of yourself. I'll wait to when you are put in a danger you cannot get out of; I'll be there, to pick your pieces. You sicken me, false Naruto. Now, be gone and never come back until you realize that you need me more than I need you."_

Naruto soon felt himself leave this place and back into the reality of light…

--

When the smoke and dust cleared, the two, Kiba and Akamaru stood over Naruto's unconscious body. Sakura looked shocked. How could Naruto lose?

Other turned away, knowing who was the victor. Asuma and Gai shook their head in shame. Ino looked at Naruto with disgust while Shikamaru and Choji didn't look surprised. Hinata looked at Naruto like she was going to cry, Shino nodded at his teammate as he practically won the match and Kurenai smiled. The others looked at Naruto like was the weakest ninja in the world; he talked big but he wasn't quite on top of the food chain

Hayate walked over as he coughed. He was going to call the match but Naruto's so-called unconscious body was nothing but smoke and… his dog. Kiba glazed over and looked shocked. "Wha-"

He soon felt "Akamaru" smack a fist into him his temple, revealing to be the number-one prankster. Naruto smirked dangerously. "You thought you could defeat me?" He scoffed after that and threw his right arm to the left. "Ha! Such a mutt could defeat me. Here, let me tell you about something. As the smoke covered the field, I found one of the Kiba clones and knocked him down, revealing to be your puppy. Then, I quickly used the **Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique) **to not only change into you but change Akamaru into an unconscious version of me."

"Wh-what did you do to Akamaru?!" Kiba screamed.

Naruto waved him off, trying to stay cool. "I just knocked him out. While I don't condone to animal violence, I'll have to make an exception."

Kiba grabbed Akamaru's unconscious body and soon grinned. Naruto and everybody soon saw an Akamaru get up. Naruto was nonplussed. "What the hell?"

"Haven't you heard the oldest dog trick in the book? Playing dead?" Akamaru barked more fiercely as he soon turned red. "Because of your stupid declare, this gave me enough time to pop a soldier pill in his mouth."

Naruto growled. "Didn't anybody tell you, mutt? If you give a dog candy, it will only give them worms!!" Naruto soon threw an array of shuriken stars and kunai knives at the pair. Both jumped as Naruto charged at them. Naruto soon jumped as high as he could go and attack Kiba with a kunai in his hands. Akamaru bit Naruto in his leg, giving Kiba enough time to smack his heel into Naruto's cheek. As Naruto harshly hit the ground, he hit the ground with a smoke hazy. Kiba growled.

"It was a clone? But his clone was solid, it should have been able to do all of that if it was just the **Bunshin no Jutsu**."

Naruto didn't answer Kiba as he launched a high jump-kick at the falling Kiba and Akamaru, smacking them both in the face. Naruto grinned but soon frowned as Kiba and Akamaru stood fast and threw more smoke bombs at their own location, revealing Kiba's infamous **Jujin Bunshin**. The clones came running at Naruto. "Here's a technique that dead last gets to see before he's defeated. **Gatsuuga (Double Piercing Fang)!!**"

One tornado appeared that was once Kiba and another spun into another tornado. "**Dual Gatsuuga!!**"

The tornado almost crashed with Naruto but he skillfully jumped over it, thinking the move would be canceled out as soon as they hit the walls. However, both tornados bounced off the walls and by the time Naruto realized this, it was all too late. Naruto felt a ton of pain whip his back and soon, Naruto crumbled to the arena floor as both Kiba skidded to the floors as well.

Naruto, coughing up blood, still smirked at the boy. "Come on, that's the best you got?"

Inside, Naruto knew he didn't much in the tank. _'Maybe I can still psyche him out.'_

Kiba laughed. "It's almost amazing to see you stand, loser. You know, if I were you, I would give up now. You can't defeat me, so why fight it? Maybe if you walk away now and give up smartly, then maybe they'll have mercy on you and let you have the Chunnin title but why encouraging you? We both know you'll never win against me and you'll never get the title of Chunnin or even the title of Hokage you keep saying you're going to get. Ha! I would make a better than you, loser. What village wants to have such a loser for a leader huh? Just give up and you can live without honor."

All Kiba and everybody in the stands heard was laughter. Naruto was simply on the floor, rolling on his belly, roaring in laughter. "You? Hokage? Don't make me laugh. Oh, you already have. If you can beat me, why bother taunting me? I think we both know who's going to win, Kiba and and its certainly not going to be you. You tell me to end to this match but I really believe this match-up is done. Look at your Akamaru."

Kiba stared to see another Naruto with Akamaru lying unconscious in his arms. "Damn it, Akamaru!! Wake up, wake up!!"

"He isn't playing dead now, idiot. He's truly knocked out. Now, for you!!" Naruto soon created four more. "**Kage Bunshin Jutsu!**"

All six Narutos stared at him, circling around Kiba who was practically sweating in nervousness. Kiba stared wide-eyed as one Naruto directed a fist in his face. Another kicked him in the air. Spinning around for another kick, all Naruto clones declared, "**U-Zu-Ma…**"

The real Naruto flipped in the air, coming down fast with a heel kick. "**KI!!**"

Kiba felt immense pain as Naruto charged all of his chakra in that kick. "**Naruto Rendan!! (Uzumaki Naruto Combo)**"

Kiba's jaw fell to the ground as everybody as how easily crumbled to the ground. Team 8 stared wide-eyed at the blond boy. "No way!!" Asuma was the only one to smile.

As did Gai and Lee when Naruto beat Kiba. Hinata blushed at Naruto victory. "G-good job, Naruto… sorry, Kiba."

Shino shook his head in shame, as Kiba was defeated, although he expected Naruto to win somehow. _'That boy is surprising.'_

Kurenai mimicked Shino's action. "And I thought Naruto was weak like they said."

Sakura grinned and pumped her hand. "Yeah, Naruto!!" **"Hah, I knew you could do it, baka no Naruto!!" **Inner Sakura also was content with Naruto winning the match.

Everybody didn't need Hayate to raise his hands and declare this match was over for Kiba.

"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto laughed as he fell down, tiredly. "Whoo. That was rough." But he still smiled. This wasn't only a victory against Kiba but against Oturan. He proved to the voice that he was too strong to give up. With him keeping at it, he showed that bastard that this Naruto didn't need any outside help. For he was Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage!!

--

A/N: Victory for Naruto Uzumaki!! Yeah, it's going to be like an inner match between the two, so count on Oturan making troublesome appearances in the series. Review; need those opinions, you know?

Chapter 5 is coming up soon: the regular matches that I might skip if you want to. Naruto meets Jiraiya and helps him out with his ninja way, Kyuubi is brought in the mix, same old shit and a new character is brought inside the series.

I hope you enjoy this chapter, ja ne!


End file.
